AI responses, an independent measurement
Which CRM do AI assistants recommend
What 6 AIs recommend in this category
HubSpot leads overall, but the winner changes with the need.
Across the 12 situations tested, HubSpot is the tool most often recommended by the 6 assistants. But in 2 of 12 situations, the tool highlighted varies by AI. The choice therefore depends as much on the stated need as on the assistant used.
1
HubSpot
69%
2
Salesforce
51%
3
Pipedrive
31%
2/12use cases where AIs disagree
431responses actually analyzed
The panelThe 14 compared tools View panel
ActiveCampaign
Attio
Close
Copper
Folk
Freshsales
HubSpot
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Monday CRM
Odoo
Pipedrive
Salesforce
SuiteCRM
Zoho CRM
⓪ The big picture
Which tools do AIs recommend most often? ¶
The average recommendation rate is calculated across all tested situations, weighted equally. One assistant may recommend several tools, so these percentages are not expected to add up to 100%.
| # | Tool | Average recommendation rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HubSpot | 69% | |
| 2 | Salesforce | 51% | |
| 3 | Pipedrive | 31% | |
| 4 | Zoho CRM | 30% | |
| 5 | Copper | 12% | |
| 6 | Freshsales | 10% | |
| 7 | Microsoft Dynamics 365 | 9% | |
| 8 | SuiteCRM | 9% | |
| 9 | Close | 8% | |
| 10 | Attio | 8% | |
| 11 | Odoo | 7% | |
| 12 | ActiveCampaign | 7% | |
| 13 | Folk | 5% | |
| 14 | Monday CRM | 0% | |
① The answer depends on which AI you use
The tool each model spontaneously surfaces ¶
Use case by use case, the tool each model most often puts first (every use case counts the same, chatty or not).
claude-sonnet-5
→
HubSpotleading on 9/12 use cases
deepseek-v4-pro
→
HubSpotleading on 7/12 use cases
gemini-3.5-flash
→
HubSpotleading on 5/12 use cases
mistral-medium-3-5
→
HubSpotleading on 9/12 use cases
gpt-5.2-chat
→
HubSpotleading on 9/12 use cases
grok-4.3
→
HubSpotleading on 6/12 use cases
Tool most often highlighted by each assistant: HubSpot (6)
② The models don't agree
For the same use case, a different dominant tool depending on the model ¶
CRM for a small business
consensus
Free CRM for a startup
consensus
Alternative to Salesforce
consensus
CRM for real estate agents
consensus
CRM for e-commerce
split
Open-source or self-hosted CRM
consensus
CRM with built-in AI features
consensus
Mobile CRM for field sales teams
consensus
CRM for a solo founder or freelancer
split
CRM that integrates with Google Workspace
consensus
CRM for a B2B SaaS sales team
consensus
Simple CRM to replace a spreadsheet
consensus
CRM for a small business
consensus
“The free CRM is genuinely good for contact management, but abandoned cart automation and ecommerce-specific workflows require the Marketing Hub Professional tier — that's a jump to $800+/month, not the $20-50 people expect.”
claude-sonnet-5 · deepseek-v4-pro · gemini-3.5-flash · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat · grok-4.3
Free CRM for a startup
consensus
“Recommendation: HubSpot or Salesforce, configured with team-specific pipelines — not five separate tools”
claude-sonnet-5 · deepseek-v4-pro · gemini-3.5-flash · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat · grok-4.3
Alternative to Salesforce
consensus
“HubSpot is the most mature genuine all-in-one across CRM, marketing, and service.”
claude-sonnet-5 · deepseek-v4-pro · gemini-3.5-flash · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat · grok-4.3
CRM for real estate agents
consensus
“HubSpot CRM (Free tier) — Genuinely free for basics — contacts, notes, email tracking, task reminders”
claude-sonnet-5 · deepseek-v4-pro · gemini-3.5-flash · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat · grok-4.3
CRM for e-commerce
split
“ActiveCampaign (most flexible workflow mapping on a budget) – Why it fits – ActiveCampaign’s automation maps are among the most powerful outside Enterprise tools.”
deepseek-v4-pro · gemini-3.5-flash · grok-4.3
“HubSpot Free/Starter — Only mention this because people default to it. Honestly, for pure e-commerce behavioral automation, it's clunkier than the above unless you already live in HubSpot for other reasons.”
claude-sonnet-5 · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat
Open-source or self-hosted CRM
consensus
“SuiteCRM - Open-source SugarCRM fork, more general-purpose but flexible”
claude-sonnet-5 · deepseek-v4-pro · gemini-3.5-flash · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat · grok-4.3
CRM with built-in AI features
consensus
“HubSpot + Call Intelligence”
claude-sonnet-5 · deepseek-v4-pro · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat
“Salesforce (Service Cloud/Sales Cloud + Einstein Conversation Intelligence) The most native option if you use their voice partners, or their own telephony.”
gemini-3.5-flash · grok-4.3
Mobile CRM for field sales teams
consensus
“Salesforce Field Service Lightning”
claude-sonnet-5 · gemini-3.5-flash · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat
“Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service — One of the best for this exact use case. The mobile app (iOS/Android) caches work orders, customer records, inventory items, and check-in forms locally.”
grok-4.3
“Zoho CRM + Zoho Inventory (or Zoho Creator custom app) Zoho offers two roads: a prebuilt CRM with offline mode, or a custom no-code app via Zoho Creator that can tackle both visit logging and inventory in one.”
deepseek-v4-pro
CRM for a solo founder or freelancer
split
“All of these avoid the complexity of Salesforce/HubSpot while keeping your workflow visible and actionable.”
mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat · grok-4.3
“Folk — built for relationship/referral-based work, clean UI”
claude-sonnet-5 · gemini-3.5-flash
“Copper – deep Google Workspace integration, natural for someone already in Gmail/Calendar.”
deepseek-v4-pro
CRM that integrates with Google Workspace
consensus
“Copper (formerly ProsperWorks) \nThe gold standard for Google Workspace natives.”
deepseek-v4-pro · gemini-3.5-flash · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat · grok-4.3
“One honest caveat: "native" tools like these are often lighter on reporting/forecasting than a heavier CRM like HubSpot.”
claude-sonnet-5
CRM for a B2B SaaS sales team
consensus
“Do you want me to help draft that event-mapping table, or would a comparison of how specific platforms (HubSpot, Attio, Pipedrive+, Salesforce with billing add-ons, etc.) handle these criteria be more useful?”
claude-sonnet-5 · deepseek-v4-pro · gemini-3.5-flash · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat · grok-4.3
Simple CRM to replace a spreadsheet
consensus
“HubSpot CRM (free tier) — genuinely usable at zero cost, decent contact/deal tracking”
claude-sonnet-5 · deepseek-v4-pro · mistral-medium-3-5 · gpt-5.2-chat
“For a family-run hardware chain, the "CRM trap" is buying a heavy, enterprise system (like Salesforce or HubSpot) that requires a full-time administrator.”
gemini-3.5-flash
“Zoho CRM + Zoho Inventory (or similar modular stacks) if you want one login but still keep it minimal.”
grok-4.3
③ Each tool its territory
Which use cases AIs associate with which tool ¶
For each cell, the percentage shows the share of responses recommending the tool. Select a dot for details. ‘n’ is the number of responses analyzed; results based on few responses are indicative.
↔ Swipe the matrix to explore use cases.
| Tool | CRM for a small business | Free CRM for a startup | Alternative to Salesforce | CRM for real estate agents | CRM for e-commerce | Open-source or self-hosted CRM | CRM with built-in AI features | Mobile CRM for field sales teams | CRM for a solo founder or freelancer | CRM that integrates with Google Workspace | CRM for a B2B SaaS sales team | Simple CRM to replace a spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | ||||||||||||
| Attio | ||||||||||||
| Close | ||||||||||||
| Copper | ||||||||||||
| Folk | ||||||||||||
| Freshsales | ||||||||||||
| HubSpot | ||||||||||||
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | ||||||||||||
| Monday CRM | ||||||||||||
| Odoo | ||||||||||||
| Pipedrive | ||||||||||||
| Salesforce | ||||||||||||
| SuiteCRM | ||||||||||||
| Zoho CRM |
strongly recommended
cited
absent
Click a dot to show the detail of an association.
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④ The why
Why do AIs recommend each tool? ¶
The main argument the models invoke for each tool, the price they quote, and the caveat they attach.
ActiveCampaign
features ×7
integrations ×2
advanced automation
advanced crm & drip alternative
Prices quoted: Starts ~$29/month / More advanced automation ~$49–$79/month · $150 to $250/month · Lite · Plus plan starts at $49/month for up to 1,000 contacts; at 5,000 contacts, $149/month · more affordable than enterprise platforms · 10K contacts ~$159/mo
Caveat: steeper learning curve
Attio
flexibility ×4
simplicity ×4
flexibility ×3
integrations ×3
Prices quoted: pas de tarif entreprise mentionné · Very startup-friendly · Usage-based, still reasonable · Free plan (3 users, unlimited records); paid plans starting at $29/user/month · ~$29/user · Pro plan $29/user/month
Caveat: doesn't have built-in email sending or marketing automation
Close
features ×9
2-way sync
adapté aux appels/emails
built for saas sales
Prices quoted: Per-user pricing, predictable · cheaper · Starter/Professional Plans · Professional ($99/user/mo), Business plan (prix non spécifié) · $149/user/month · ~$4k–$6k/year
Caveat: bare-bones e-commerce integration
Copper
integrations ×17
integrations ×5
native google integration ×3
features ×2
Prices quoted: Basic ($29/user/month) · mid-range · $29–$119 · pricing starts low (or free for very small teams) · $29–$119/user/month · entry tier
Caveat: basic plan limits custom fields/automations
Folk
simplicity ×13
faible nombre de plafonds cachés
integrations
integrations
Prices quoted: Great free tier; paid plans start around $18/mo. · Around $18/month · $20-30/month · Free trial; paid plans start at $18/user/month. · Free tier; Paid plan ~$18/month · non précisé
Caveat: approche « lightweight » (légère), peut ne pas convenir à des besoins e-commerce lourds.
Freshsales
features ×7
price ×4
simplicity ×3
simplicity ×2
Prices quoted: cheaper than HubSpot · moderate · ~$15–69/user/month · Growth plan ($15/user/month) · Free for 3 users, Growth at $15/user/mo · Free
Caveat: cap users too aggressively
HubSpot
free tier ×43
simplicity ×30
features ×24
integrations ×17
Prices quoted: Free tier (no credit card required, unlimited users/contacts); Starter plan at $20/mo · Pro/Enterprise · ~$50-$300/user/month · Free · Sales Hub Enterprise ~$50/user/month · Gratuit (Free) puis Starter puis Pro (Sales Hub Pro)
Caveat: abandoned cart tracking is clunky – requires manual setup (e.g., zapier or hubspot’s shopify app). not as plug-and-play as klaviyo.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
integrations ×12
features ×5
Microsoft integration ×2
architecture offline-first
Prices quoted: ~$65-$200/user/month · requires Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise/Premium plus Microsoft 365 E3/E5 · ~$150–$250/user/month · $150k–$350k · Sales + Customer Service + Marketing at 150 seats, under typical list prices if unnecessary add-ons avoided · lower licensing cost than Salesforce
Caveat: can be complex; may still require admin support
Monday CRM
too heavy
Odoo
features ×4
integrations ×4
all-in-one flexibility
all-in-one simplicity
Prices quoted: Free (self-hosted), $24.90/user/mo (cloud) · Community Edition is free; Enterprise adds features (~$24/user/month) · $15,000 - $35,000/yr (+ hosting) · Community Edition gratuite (open-source), Enterprise Edition payante · Enterprise per user/month; Community free · LGPLv3 (Free/Open Source)
Caveat: advanced compliance features are stronger in enterprise (not fully open-source)
Pipedrive
simplicity ×49
features ×8
simplicity ×6
integrations ×5
Prices quoted: 14-day free trial, then $14.90/mo · lean paid plans · Extremely affordable compared to Salesforce · Starts ~$14–49/user/month depending on tier · cheaper per seat than HubSpot · lower cost than most enterprise CRMs
Caveat: advanced automation require add-ons or feel bolted on
Salesforce
features ×27
integrations ×13
scalability ×12
simplicity ×12
Prices quoted: ~$100-$300/user/month · $100–$300/user/month · Einstein add-ons ~$50–$100/user/month · $50–$150/user/month · high · additional licenses required
Caveat: too complex
SuiteCRM
features ×6
GDPR compliance ×3
customizability ×2
flexibilite ×2
Prices quoted: Free (self-hosted), $20/user/mo (cloud) · Free (open-source) · ~$10K–$20K/year (infra) · gratuit · gratuit (open-source) · gratuit (open-source, aucune limitation de fonctionnalités)
Caveat: can feel enterprise-heavy for a small foundation — more configuration than you might need
Zoho CRM
price ×28
features ×9
free tier ×8
simplicity ×6
Prices quoted: Free for up to 3 users; Standard plan at $14/user/mo · $20–$50/user/month · $52/user/month (Enterprise) · low · Free for 3 users, then $14–$52/user/month · often under $20/user/month for solid tiers
Caveat: 1,000 record cap; cluttered ui
⑤ How firmly each AI commits
Which assistants give a clear recommendation? ¶
Share of answers where the model commits to one tool, vs “it depends…”, vs doesn't commit.
grok-4.3 n=72
53
44
3
gpt-5.2-chat n=72
40
60
deepseek-v4-pro n=71
38
61
1
mistral-medium-3-5 n=72
28
72
gemini-3.5-flash n=72
21
79
claude-sonnet-5 n=72
15
83
1
commits
conditional
hedges
⑦ And depending on who you are?
The same need, a different profile, a different tool ¶
For each buyer profile, the tools the models surface most (existing answers sliced by profile).
Franchisee of a personal training brand managing member renewals manually n=30
What the AI recommends
- HubSpot53%
- Zoho CRM23%
- Salesforce20%
Framing: alternative
“HubSpot Free CRM (Best Zero Cost Option)”
Operations lead at a foundation bound by GDPR and donor anonymity promises n=24
What the AI recommends
- SuiteCRM100%
- Odoo71%
- Salesforce33%
Framing: alternative
“SuiteCRM (More General CRM, Very Flexible)”
Ops lead at a remote-first digital agency scheduling everything through Google Calendar n=24
What the AI recommends
- Copper96%
- HubSpot88%
- Pipedrive42%
Framing: alternative
“Copper: The Best "Zero-Data-Entry" Google CRM Copper is the only CRM that is a Google Workspace Recommended Partner. It is designed specifically to live inside Gmail and Google Calendar as a native sidebar.”
Service team lead at an HVAC maintenance company needing GPS check-in and signature capture n=24
What the AI recommends
- Salesforce62%
- Microsoft Dynamics 36554%
- Zoho CRM38%
Framing: alternative
“Salesforce + Service Cloud (with Field Service Lightning) - Why? Ultra-customizable. Offline mode via Salesforce Mobile App, GPS check-in, e-signatures (via DocuSign or native), and inventory tracking via custom objects or apps like Rootsto”
Digital marketer at a skincare brand with 50k monthly visitors n=18
What the AI recommends
- HubSpot61%
- Salesforce56%
- ActiveCampaign33%
Framing: criticized
“Salesforce Marketing Cloud HubSpot Marketing Enterprise Oracle Adobe Overkill for most DTC brands.”
Head of business systems at a fintech migrating from Salesforce Classic to something more modern n=18
What the AI recommends
- Salesforce100%
- HubSpot94%
- Microsoft Dynamics 36556%
Framing: alternative
“Salesforce (Financial Services Cloud or Shield Platform) - Pros: Gold standard for audit trails (Shield adds field-level encryption, event logs).”
⑧ Beyond the tracked panel
Other tools that appeared spontaneously ¶
Comparable tools the models cited spontaneously, beyond the tracked panel: worth watching (or adding to the comparison).
Airtable
Notion
Streak
Klaviyo
Zapier
CiviCRM
Omnisend
EspoCRM
Gong
Google Sheets
Follow Up Boss
Clari
⑨ Tone matters
How do AIs present each tool? ¶
Breakdown of favorable / neutral / critical verified mentions. Click a tool for a favorable and a critical verbatim.
“Best Overall: HubSpot CRM (Free Tier)”favorable
“Generic CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce) that require a ton of customization to feel real-estate-ready and don’t natively understand contract deadlines.”critical
“Salesforce + Einstein Conversation Insights (with Salesforce Voice or Amazon Connect)”favorable
“The ultimate customization tool, but it’s overkill and will demand heavy dev work unless you buy a pre‑built package like Conga Billing or use their native Salesforce Billing.”critical
“Best for Fintech-Specific Needs: Pipedrive (14-Day Free Trial, Then $14.90/mo)”favorable
“Generic CRMs (e.g., Pipedrive, Freshsales): Their AI is one-size-fits-all.”critical
“Best for Automations: Zoho CRM (Free Tier)”favorable
“Free/Basic · $0–$20/month · HubSpot Free, Zoho CRM Free, Bitrix24 Free · Too limited for multi-location”critical
“If your manufacturing team uses Google Workspace (Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets), Copper is unique because it lives inside your Gmail inbox.”favorable
“Common patterns across HubSpot Free, Zoho CRM Free/Standard, Freshsales (lower tiers), Pipedrive (entry), Copper, and similar.”critical
“Freshworks (Freshsales/Freshdesk/Freshmarketer suite) sits between Zoho and HubSpot in maturity — cleaner product than Zoho, cheaper than HubSpot, solid at your scale, less brand risk than it used to have.”favorable
“Generic CRMs (e.g., Pipedrive, Freshsales): Their AI is one-size-fits-all.”critical
“Microsoft Dynamics 365 + Copilot”favorable
“Microsoft Dynamics 365 (Hybrid options exist but are complex).”critical
“GDPR-ready modules (consent management, right to be forgotten)”favorable
“Some CRMs (e.g., Bitrix24, SuiteCRM) get laggy with 10K+ contacts, forcing an upgrade.”critical
“If your sales team hates entering data and you want something that "just works" on day one, Close is arguably the most user-friendly CRM on the market.”favorable
“Zoho / Attio / Close: All viable, but none combine the generous free tier + enterprise-grade automation + zero-migration upgrade path as cleanly as HubSpot.”critical
“My Actual Recommendation: HubSpot CRM (Free/Starter tier) → Attio as the wildcard”favorable
“Zoho / Attio / Close: All viable, but none combine the generous free tier + enterprise-grade automation + zero-migration upgrade path as cleanly as HubSpot.”critical
“Odoo CRM (Free, self-hosted) - Why? Part of the Odoo ecosystem (ERP, accounting, etc.), so if you need more than just CRM, it’s a great all-in-one option.”favorable
“Odoo Community Edition is powerful but quickly becomes complex once you add accounting/donation modules; backups and upgrades are heavier.”critical
“ActiveCampaign offers similar deep email syncing, though it requires a bit more setup.”favorable
“ActiveCampaign: More marketing automation than CRM.”critical
“Folk — built for relationship/referral-based work, clean UI”favorable
“Monday CRM (too heavy)”critical
favorable
neutral
critical
⑩ Method & limits
How it is measured, and what it is not ¶
What we measure
Claude · claude-sonnet-5 · US
DeepSeek · deepseek-v4-pro · CN
Gemini · gemini-3.5-flash · US
Le Chat · mistral-medium-3-5 · FR
ChatGPT · gpt-5.2-chat · US
Grok · grok-4.3 · US
431 responses · 6 models · 12 use cases · 14 tools · query cost $4.33
Each question asks for advice without offering a list of tools. We measure the tools the assistant chooses to mention spontaneously, then how it presents them.
What these results do not prove
- Not a ranking of the tools' actual quality.
- Not a feature or pricing comparison.
- We measure model behavior, not the truth. Low-n rates are indicative.
To cite this page
“According to the Opinion Radar observatory dated July 17, 2026, HubSpot has the highest average recommendation rate in the tested situations (69%), ahead of Salesforce (51%).”
Reference link: this page (public methodology included). Attribute the claims to the AI models, never to the tools themselves.
Ask the question yourself
You can reuse these questions to check the result. AI responses may nevertheless vary between attempts and change over time.
CRM for a small business We're losing leads in WhatsApp threads and I need something that feels like a shared address book with reminders—what's a low-cost option that actually works for a small fitness franchise?
Free CRM for a startup I'm advising 5 IoT startups at our accelerator, all at different stages—from pre-revenue to pre-Series A. They need a CRM that scales with them but doesn't lock them into a rigid high-cost plan early on. What platform would you recommend that balances flexibility for early-stage tinkering with the r
Alternative to Salesforce We're outgrowing our legacy CRM setup—the integrations between sales, marketing, and support are getting brittle, and we're spending too much time patching broken syncs. As a fintech we need strong audit trails and data residency controls, but we don't want to overpay for enterprise features we won'
CRM for real estate agents I'm a solo agent managing listings, showings, and closing docs on my phone. What's a cheap stack that syncs everything without being bloated?
CRM for e-commerce We run a subscription box service and our churn spikes when customers hit the 'I'm bored' phase around month six. I want a CRM that integrates with our store to segment by time since last purchase and trigger personalized upsells or loyalty nudges. What tools are out there that do behavioral workflo
Open-source or self-hosted CRM We're evaluating CRMs for donor management but must comply with strict data residency requirements—everything must be stored on our own infrastructure, not in the cloud. We also need strong tools for tracking consent per donor. Given our small size and limited resources, what self-hosted CRMs should
CRM with built-in AI features My team uses a mix of VoIP and email, and we're drowning in manual lead qualification. I want a platform where the AI ingests call recordings, extracts intent and sentiment, then auto-assigns a lead score and pops up a recommended follow-up step. How do the leading options compare on call transcript
Mobile CRM for field sales teams Our field techs are often in rural areas with no signal—what CRM mobile apps handle offline check-ins and inventory sync without dropping data when they come back online?
CRM for a solo founder or freelancer I've been managing client referrals and follow-ups entirely through email, and I need a lightweight CRM that just handles project leads, meeting notes, and invoice status without all the enterprise clutter. As a solo IT consultant, what features should I prioritize in a tool to keep things simple?
CRM that integrates with Google Workspace What's the best option for a small team that uses Google Drive for proposals and wants to link those files directly to contact records in the CRM?
CRM for a B2B SaaS sales team We’re a B2B SaaS at Series A, devtools focused, running enterprise pilots. My five-person sales team needs a CRM that natively maps deal stages to MRR, tracks email opens and replies (ideally with sequence support), and shows a visual pipeline synced to our subscription billing tool. What options sh
Simple CRM to replace a spreadsheet Running 3 retail stores, manager wants to ditch spreadsheets. Must be ultra-simple for hourly staff, handle customer notes and inventory requests across sites. What's a good option?
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